Several studies have identified the importance of holistic information in face recognition. However, only few studies have investigated how it is influenced by changes of configuration. In Experiment 1, four faces were created by changing the distance between the eyes and the mouth. Participants evaluated the size of the face on three dimensions—face length, face width and face range—by using magnitude estimation. Results indicated that increasing the distance between the eyes and the mouth increased the estimated length and range of faces. In Experiment 2, the distance between the eyes was manipulated in a way similar to Experiment 1. Results indicated that increasing the distance between the eyes increased the estimated width and the range of the face. The direction of face presentation (normal or inverted) only affected width estimation in Experiment 1. It is concluded that facial perception is affected by configural information of features. These results are discussed regarding configural information and inversion effects.
